53-Person Charity Moves London Offices By Cargobike

Leaving old office for the new, with Pedal Me courier on an electric cargo bike.

Sustrans

British walking and cycling charity Sustrans has moved 2.7 miles across London with the help of an electric cargobike firm. Pedal Me – which recently raised £352,580 in equity crowdfunding to expand its fleet – schlepped a 117kg printer, 100 storage boxes, 50 crates full of IT equipment, three cupboards and two smoothie bikes. The relocation was from Farringdon to Tower Hamlets, and took place yesterday.

Sustrans London director Matt Winfield, said:

Our office move using cargo bikes just goes to prove it is possible to relocate the contents of a sizeable workplace in a busy capital city like London, in a way that is environmentally sound. We’re looking forward to continuing our exciting work, empowering communities across London to create happier places.”

It’s fantastic that Sustrans has chosen Tower Hamlets to be its new home. We welcome the charity with open arms as a major player in making London a place that is safer and healthier to travel around by bike and on foot. We know Sustrans well, having worked with them on projects that make streets work better for everyone and in schools across the borough, where they help get children thinking about air quality, health and being more active in their daily lives.”

Sustrans employs 53 people in London. Its main headquarters is in Bristol.

Last year a Dutch study concluded that e-cargobikes could replace some 20% of all delivery vans currently operating in large cities.

Academics from Amsterdam and Rotterdam Universities spent two years working with freight companies, municipalities and other experts to compile the 121-page City Logistic: Light and Electric report. This argued that cities are being strangled by trucks and vans: a great deal of freight traffic in urban areas is now comprised of delivery vans. In the UK, van traffic has grown by 71% over the last 20 years, compared to growth of 13% for cars.